The run for redemption in The American gained some serious steam with a victory at No. 17 Memphis Thursday night, but UConn realizes it has plenty of work ahead.

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Greatest hitsUConn and Louisville have played just 14 times since 2000, with 13 of those games coming since the Cardinals joined the Big East in 2005-06. The Cards have an 8-6 series lead and have won six of the last seven meetings.Here's a look at four memorable series moments:UConn 69, Louisville 66, March 2, 2011, Madison Square Garden: The Huskies' five days of magic at Madison Square Garden capped off with Kemba Walker scoring 19 points to lead them to the Big East championship and into the the NCAA tournament.Louisville 79, UConn 78 (2OT), Jan. 29, 2011, Storrs: Sophomore Peyton Siva made two huge layups in the second overtime and finished with 19 points as the Cardinals upset the fifth-ranked Huskies.Louisville 78, UConn 76, Feb. 28, 2010, Storrs: Edgar Sosa's driving layup with 8 seconds gave the Cardinals a two-point lead, and Kemba Walker's drive in the finals seconds was stuffed by Samardo Samuels.UConn 69, Louisville 67, Jan. 28, 2008, Hartford: A.J. Price scored 20 points and the shorthanded Huskies fended off a late Louisville run. UConn played without leading scorer Jerome Dyson and Doug Wiggins, who were ticketed earlier in the week for underage drinking on campus.-- WILLIAM S. PAXTON

The next step comes Saturday night at sold-out Gampel Pavilion with No. 18 Louisville (15-3, 4-1 American Athletic Conference) -- the defending national champion -- in town (9, ESPN) for the first of two meetings between the preseason conference favorites.

After an 0-2 start to AAC play, the Huskies (14-3, 2-2) have won three straight, including two in-conference games.

"Our backs are against the wall," UConn senior Shabazz Napier said. "We're not ranked. We don't think we're better than them. Our backs are against the wall and once again we're going to go into a game as the underdogs and that's what we live off of.

"If our backs are against the wall, we're going to be ready to play, and I think that's what's going to happen."

A sluggish first half aside, the Huskies accomplished what they needed to at the FedEx Forum to allow themselves a chance for a two-game sweep of ranked teams this week.

"This is the first one we needed to get," UConn coach Kevin Ollie said after the Memphis win. "We got our first road kill in the American Conference and now we go back home. I know our fans are going to be jacked up, but we can't get lost in this moment. We are going to celebrate now, but we can't get lost in this moment because we have to move to the next moment."

The Cardinals have won six of the last seven meetings between the schools, but have had their own share of troubles this season. Two-year starter Chane Behanan was dismissed from the team last month, guard Chris Jones (oblique) missed the Houston game and the Cardinals have lacked that dominance they displayed last season.

In fact, UConn comes into the game with a higher RPI -- 16th -- than Louisville (43rd), but the Huskies are fully aware of what guard Russ Smith and the Cardinals can do.

"They are guard heavy with Russ Smith, but Montrezl (Harrell) is a monster down there," Ollie said. "He's going to get that ball and try to get every rebound. We can't let their pressure affect us. We have to run our offense solid and we definitely have to do a better job on the pick and roll. ... They have (Luke) Hancock and got some different players who can do damage from the 3-point line if we are not keeping Russ Smith in front of us."

The Huskies have been a little loose in their perimeter defense in the first half of games against Harvard and Memphis, which each team used to take leads into the half. The Crimson were 5-for-7 on 3-pointers in the first half while the Tigers were 5-for-8.

"We are trying to learn how to help out on the post and also get back to the three and I think that's what (costs) us a lot of 3s," Napier said. "It's a work in progress and we are learning."

Louisville made 15 of 28 3-pointers in a 91-52 drubbing of Houston, Thursday night. It was the most treys for the Cardinals since they hit 17 against Morgan State in 2010.

"We are not too worried about (winning a league title) right now, we're just taking it game by game," UConn junior DeAndre Daniels said. "Hopefully, we can just win every game."

NOTE: UConn junior Ryan Boatright was at practice with the team Friday in Storrs and is expected to play Saturday. Boatright's cousin 20-year-old Arin Williams, was shot to death Monday in Boatright's hometown of Aurora, Ill. Boatright penned the initials "AW" under his left eye before the Memphis game.